Hands On: HTC One M8 For Verizon Wireless

HTC’s newest phone, ONE M8 takes the original ONE and makes it even better than it was. Some have called this the best phone ever created. Lets see what my month and a half of use has found.

The HTC One M8 has a 5″ Super LCD3 screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920. The One M8 has a pixel density 441 ppi which is greater than both the Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 5S. The more pixels per inch, the better the picture quality. The screen backlight is adjustable and works well even in bright sunlight. The screen itself is made from Corning Gorilla Glass for increased resistance to cracks and scratches. The M8 can accept multi-touch gestures. The screen has a black surround so the screen doesn’t go from edge to edge. The function buttons are touch buttons in the screen that will rotate with the screen.

The only physical buttons on the M8 are the power and volume buttons.

Powering the HTC One M8 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Quad Core processor running at up too 2300 MHz. There is also a Adreno 330 graphics processor. The One M8 has 2GB of onboard RAM and 32 GB of usable memory for your apps, music, and video. If that isn’t enough space, the M8 can handle up too a 128 GB microSD card for a total capacity of 160 GB of storage.

The HTC One M8 has both a 5MP front facing camera, and a DUO camera on the rear. This “dual” camera setup. With this setup, you get high quality pictures out of the main camera lens that offer a a focal length 28mm and an aperture F2.0. The second smaller camera is their to add depth to your pictures. With this setup you get an almost 3 dimensional look to your pictures. While the pictures won’t jump out of your phone at you, you can tilt you phone while looking at your picture and have your pictures rotate with a 3D like look. The camera is great for night pictures also as it allows in up too 300% more light than other phone cameras’. Some of the optinos with the camera are HDR, burst mode, UFocus (allows for editing of focus after picture has been taken), Smile detection, image stabilization, panorama, and macro mode.

The housing of the M8 is made from aluminum and is very strong and not prone to cracking or breaking like ones made from plastic. The top near the power button has a black plastic insert in it. The front of the phone has both the speakers, one on the top, one on the bottom, the front facing camera, notification LED, and light and proximity sensors. The left side has the tray for a microSD card. The right side has the SIM Tray and volume buttons. The bottom features the 3.5mm headphone jack and the microUSB charging port. The rear has the HTC Zoe camera as well as the main camera and dual flash. The HTC logo is also inlaid in the back of the phone.

One of the big reasons I like the HTC One as well as the One M8 are the dual front facing speakers. This helps with both sound quality and the level at which the sound needs to be to comfortably hear the audio. HTC Boomsound, you get great quality sound without having to cup your hand around the back or bottom of the phone to redirect the sound to your ears. With the built-in amplifier, the HTC One M8 is 25% louder than the original One.

The One M8 features HTC’s new Sense 6 UI running over Android 4.4 . The Sense 6 UI takes what everyone likes about previous UI’s such as the Home Screen Clock and weather and customizable lock screens to give you the information you want with just a touch. Another nice feature the M8, that some of the other phones now have is the fact that you can wake you phone up by either double tapping your screen on swiping up on your screen.

For those of you that like to do as much as possible with your phone, the HTC One M8 has an IR blaster and TV app that will allow you to control your TV with just your phone. Also with additional apps from either your Cable or Satellite provider to control everything in your home entertainment system.

Other ways to connect your phone are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC (Google Wallet is preinstalled), Verizon LTE Bands, as well as EDGE/GSM and HSPA/UMTS bands for Global Bands. This allows the HTC One M8 for Verizon will work great in the USA as well as over 220 other Countries World Wide.

Overall the HTC One M8 took an awesome phone and made it even better. Between the Screen Quality, microSD Card Slot, and front facing speakers, this is one of the best phones you will be able to buy in 2014. Check out Verizon Wireless to pick yours up right now for $99.99 with a new two-year agreement or $24.99 a month on a Verizon EDGE Plan. Looking to get a case and car charger with your phone? Verizon has an M8 Bundle that includes the HTC One M8, car charger, and case for $149.99 with a new 2 year agreement or $24.99 per month on and EDGE Plan

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I am the owner of Cerebral-overload.com and the Verizon Wireless Reviewer for Techburgh.com. Ben’s love of gadgets came from his lack of a Nintendo Game Boy when he was a child . Ben vowed from that day on to get his hands on as many tech products as possible. Ben’s approach to a review is to make it informative for the technofile while still making it understandable to everyone. Ben is a new voice in the tech industry and is looking to make a mark wherever he goes. When not reviewing products, Ben is also a 911 Telecommunicator just outside of Pittsburgh PA.
Twitter: @gizmoboaks
Hangouts: Beavercountyemt
Skype: Ben.Oaks